Estate agents dirty tricks? asked to speak to their financial adviser after making offer

[Artygirlghost]

I view a property last week and made an offer today. The property has been on the market for a month or so and the agent stated that the owner was keen to sell and would accept an offer so I made a fair offer but below asking price.

Now they want me to speak to their mortgage broker/financial adviser to get me ''financially checked'' so they can ''put me in the best financial light'' to the buyer and are saying that they are doing this because of the current state of the mortgage market which I am finding really off-putting.

I already told them I had my own mortgage broker (who already arranged the mortgage on my current property) who I trust and that most of the purchase is from the sale of my flat anyway.

Should I :

• speak to the adviser but simply state that I am financing the purchase from the sale of my property and leave it at that. I have no intention of sharing anymore financial details than that at this stage
• refuse to speak to the adviser and ask them to pass on the offer as they are legally obliged to and risk them not doing that.

I am really disappointed in them because they had so far been really good when it came to viewings and this is one of the biggest and most well-known estate agents in the areas where I am looking.

Any advice?

I am seriously considering giving up on the buying process in England and purchasing somewhere else...

@LadyMarmaladeAtkins
But OP you do need to provide proof of funds

To a solicitor yes as you have to do it anyway as part of the transaction at the very beginning. To some random person over the phone? no.

My sale is not going to fall through, we have exchanged, are about to complete and I know exactly how much I will be getting from it.

That will be my answer to the adviser tomorrow and they can contact my solicitor to confirm this if they wish.

End of story as far as I am concerned.

I refused and got my mortgage broker to give them a call when they tried to pull the same stunt with me

I had this years ago. Asked if seeing their broker/adviser was a condition of purchase? Of course it isn’t so they had to say no. I said that’s fine then, and just repeated that I had my own financial advice in place.

They were very pushy though.

@NeverOneBiscuit
''I had this years ago. Asked if seeing their broker/adviser was a condition of purchase? Of course it isn’t so they had to say no. I said that’s fine then, and just repeated that I had my own financial advice in place.They were very pushy though.''

Thank you for your feedback. That's what I feel like saying as well.

I completely expect the solicitors instructed to go through the financing as it is part of the process but I really resent having to speak to some random financial adviser at this stage when I believe my offer has not even been submitted to the vendor.

I will just have a brief conversation tomorrow and just repeat the same thing: ''My offer is X, the purchase will be financed by the sale of my flat which is completing at the end of the month combined with a small mortgage which is already being arranged by my usual broker I would like you to put my offer forward now''. End of conversation.

If the buyer does not like the sound of that they are welcome to say no.

I will get my broker to get me a mortgage in principle next week and will move use a different estate agent is this falls through.

It is such a shame as I really like the house but they are just putting me off the whole thing and I don't even feel like cooperating anymore.

Well also bear in mind if there are multiple offers the EA is going to push the ones that use their broker, even if they don’t say that (though I have been told this by some EA). Unfortunately this all part of the game.

I think you need to get on to your broker today to get a mortgage in principle to show you have the funds to buy the property. The EA is only doing their job. The vendor will be asking the EA if you are proceedable and with the state of the mortgage market at the moment, they will not want to go under offer with someone who says they have the money but then turns out not to. If you are very confident you have it, you need to show them.

Well it turned out to be an easy conversation after all and they just wanted basic details confirmed and the adviser was very helpful and not pushy at all and said that he will recommend me as a serious buyer.

Let's hope the seller will go for the offer next.

It's normal for them to want evidence you can afford it. We had offer accepted but they wouldn't proceed or take house off the market until we provided evidence of funding to the EA. That was evidence of cash for deposit and then the agreement in principle for the mortgage.

There are a lot of people out there claiming to be cash buyers who turn out to be anything but and this weeds out them!

They all try this on. Just keep repeating that you have your finances sorted.

I've been asked all sorts by EA that is none of their business. Some EAs really think they rule the world.

Ex was an estate agent. Yes, they are acting for the vendor in order to get the best price, but not in terms of bumping the price up if they know you can pay more. There is one reason, and one reason only why they try to insist you see their tame financial adviser. It is because they can earn commission out of it.

In your shoes, I'd let the vendor know that you loved the property and have put in an offer with the agent. Then, if the agent is playing silly buggers and doesn't pass your details on, the vendor will know about it.

In the end it was actually a very quick and easy call to confirm my situation.

They did not try to push me to get a mortgage through them or to disclose too many details.

The adviser said they were happy to recommend me as a serious buyer.

I did state that my current offer was all I was prepared to put forward as well because I had carefully planned and assessed my financial situation and know exactly what I can afford.

So at least they also know that my offer is the only one that I will put on the table and there won't be any messing around.

There are other houses that would suit me if this one falls through.

All very stressful though.

They’re legally required to pass on all offers UNLESS their client has formally requested they aren’t notified of certain offers. Some agents discuss what to pass on as standard when taking on a client meaning offers without financial checks/below asking/etc don’t have to be passed on.

I only know because we offered without viewing earlier this year and the agent wouldn’t pass it on without us viewing first and financial checks. He told me all of the above and he was a slimy git so I checked it was all true and above board.

@rrrrrreatt Thank you for the additional info. Yes that's what they said: this vendor wanted people checked first, maybe there was an issue with previous failed sales for that house.

The assessment was a quick phone call in the end and the adviser said they would recommend me as a serious buyer.

Waiting to hear about the offer.

I did make it clear I would not go higher though as I know my budget and in this climate I am not going to offer anymore than what I am comfortable with and what I think the house is really worth.

At least it that one falls through the agent will have it on file that I already had an initial financial assessment.

I do think though as a buyer that when people wait too long to consider and reply to an offer it does make you wonder how difficult they might be to deal with during the transition in the future.

So I think it works both ways: a vendor does not want time-wasters but a buyer who knows they are in a good position financially will move on quickly if the seller is being slow at engaging.

I agree, a slow unresponsive vendor is a nightmare.

They might take a few days because the agent’s ringing round for counter offers. We’ve had a few calls recently where the agent offers to bring our viewing forward (to same or next day) after receiving an offer on it to try and get a few more on the table.

We had our original offer accepted in April and we’re viewing again due to chain issues. When we ask agents now nearly all the offers are under asking, it’s a buyer’s market now it seems which is good because prices have been crazy recently.

Good luck, hopefully your offer is accepted.

@rrrrrreatt

Indeed.

I have the feeling the buyer or the estate agent are playing for time hoping someone will offer more.

It just means that I am keeping my options open too.

Have a question and sorry I see this is an old post but thought I'd ask since it's related to the topic of discussion. We made an offer to a property and it was accepted, after which they asked us if we were ok to use their broker and we went ahead with it. Is that a bad thing? Are we going to struggle to get the best mortgage because we went ahead with them, as opposed to going with an independent broker?

Would like to hear your thoughts!

The reason they want you to see their broker is because their broker will earn a large commission from the lender. They won’t necessarily get the best deal for you.

Do you even need a broker? By far the best deal we found was with First Direct, who don’t sell through brokers. We just applied on their website.

How did you know that was the best deal in the market? Our situation is a bit complicated and I'm not sure if we would be able to do it ourselves but happy to hear your thoughts.

We need to convert our current mortgage to buy to let since the sale of our flat fell through. Then we need a mortgage to purchase our new property. So we're sitting with two mortgages and they need to do stress tests, look at eligibility, valuation of the property we're looking to rent etc. Sadly the house we're purchasing the valuation done was a desktop valuation so we're not even sure if it's accurate but luckily the vendor agreed our price which is 13k lower than the desktop valuation. She had agreed earlier itself before the valuation happened and has not renegotiated.

There is the potential the broker is tied to a particular set of lenders, or for whatever reason isn't comfortable dealing with certain lenders.

Key things you can ask them is this: Are you a whole of market mortgage broker?

If they say yes, then they will be working with a large pool of lenders.

If they say no, then they are tied to a specific pool of lenders, so it is less likely you will get the best deal - although nest can be subjective.

I'm a mortgage broker and don't charge any broker fees, so happy to give you a second opinion if you want one.

Thanks a lot. Can I DM you?

You're most welcome, please feel free to DM me - my inbox is always open.

I did a bit of internet research on different lenders and that was the best deal I found

Also when EAs were trying to get me to see their mortgage broker, they asked me what deal I had found. Their response was always ‘no we wouldn’t be able to beat that’.

I've DM'ed you did you get my message?

It's standard for them to ask and offer you all sorts of services, including mortgage brokers and solicitors.

I just said thanks but no thanks to all of those, as I had already found my own through personal recommendation, and they were perfectly fine about it.

This should absolutely not be the case- I work for a broker who is recommended by builders, estate agents and other industry partners and we absolutely work in the interests of the client, not the builder etc.
We don't pass on any information without explicit knowledge and permission of the client. We are regulated, our reviews are visible for all to see, and we would not be in business long if we did not work in the interests of the client.

The benefit to the introducer is that they know the purchaser is getting a good service (and likely to be happier with the whole process) and that they know we will work our socks off to make the mortgage offer issued in a timely manner